Editing Political aspects of Islam (section)

====Guardianship of the Jurist of Shi'i Islam====
{{see|Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist}}
Guardianship of the Jurist (''Wilāyat al-Faqīh'') is a concept in [[Twelver]] [[Shia Islam]]ic [[sharia|law]] that holds that in the [[Occultation (Islam)|absence]] of (what Twelvers believe is) the religious and political leader of Islam—the "infallible [[Imamate in Shia doctrine|Imam]]", who Shi'a believe will reappear sometime before [[Judgement Day in Islam|Judgement Day]]) -- righteous Shi'i jurists (''[[faqīh]]''),<ref name="JoAOS-1991-549">{{cite journal |title=Review by Hossein Modarressi, by THE JUST RULER OR THE GUARDIAN JURIST: AN ATTEMPT TO LINK TWO DIFFERENT SHICITE CONCEPTS by Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=July–September 1991 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=549–562 |jstor=604271 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/604271 |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> should administer "some" of the "religious and social affairs" of the Shi'i community. In its "absolute" form—the form advanced by the [[Ayatollah]] [[Ruhollah Khomeini]]<ref name="VeF-Encyclo.com">{{cite web |last1=Algar |first1=Hamid |last2=Hooglund |first2=Eric |title=VELAYAT-E FAQIH Theory of governance in Shiʿite Islam. |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/velayat-e-faqih |website=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> and the basis of government in [[History of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Islamic Republic of Iran]]—the state and society are ruled by an Islamic jurist ([[Ali Khamenei]] as of 2022).

A variation of [[Islamism]], the theory holds that since [[sharia]] law has everything needed to rule a state (whether ancient or modern),<ref name=IaR1981:137-8>[[#IaR1981|Khomeini, ''Islamic Government'', 1981]]: p.137-8</ref> and any other basis of governance will lead to injustice and sin,<ref name=IaR1981:31-33>[[#IaR1981|Khomeini, ''Islamic Government'', 1981]]: p.31-33</ref> a state must be ruled according to sharia and the person who should rule is an expert in sharia.<ref>Abrahamian, Ervand, ''Khomeinism : Essays on the Islamic Republic'' by Ervand Abrahamian, p.34-5</ref>

The theory of [[sovereignty]] of the Guardianship of the Jurist (in fact of all Islam) explained by at least one conservative Shi'i scholar ([[Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi]]), is contrasted with the theory of sovereignty in "most of the schools of political philosophy and other cultures". Non-Muslim cultures hold that "every man is free", and in democratic cultures in particular, "sovereignty ... belongs to the people". A ruler and government must have the consent of the governed to have [[Legitimacy (political)|political legitimacy]]. Whereas in fact, sovereignty is God's. The "entire universe and whatever in it belongs to God ... the Exalted, and all their movements and acts must have to be in accordance with the command or prohibition of the Real Owner". Consequently, human beings "have no right to rule over others or to choose someone to rule", i.e. choose someone to rule themselves.<ref name="Cursory-2010">{{cite book |last1=Mesbah-Yazdi |first1=Mohammad-Taqi |editor1-first=Sayyid ‘Abbas |editor1-last=Husayni |title=A Cursory Glance at the Theory of Wilayat al-Faqih |date=2010 |publisher=Ahlul Bayt World Assembly/Al-Islam.org |url=https://www.al-islam.org/cursory-glance-theory-wilayat-al-faqih-muhammad-taqi-misbah-yazdi/chapter-1-wilayat-al-faqih |access-date=25 August 2022 |chapter=1: Wilayat al-Faqih, Exigency and Presuppositions}}</ref> In an Islamic state, rule must be according to God's law and the ruler must be best person to enforce God's law. The people's "consent and approval" are valuable for developing and strengthening the Islamic government but irrelevant for its legitimacy.<ref name="Cursory-2010"/>